In our Thursday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Wednesday, 26 October 2016.
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Cuts to departmental budgets designed to slash public service jobs BusinessLive reports that the Treasury has put the screws on public sector employment by cutting the operational budgets of departments in the hope that 25,000 jobs will be lost through attrition over the next three years. This follows a reduction by the provinces of 20,000 posts over the past three years. While the Treasury has fastidiously avoided retrenchments, the adjustments to the budget over the next three years will compel departments to reduce their headcounts. Operational budgets have been cut 1.2% across the board. While the health and education budgets will grow in real terms, defence, public order and the safety cluster’s budgets will grow only at a rate of 5.8%, which implies personnel reductions. Read this report by Carol Paton and Asha Speckman in full at BusinessLive. Read too, Government headcount freeze to remain in place, at Business Report. And also, Vakante poste in staatsdiens nie gevul, at Netwerk24 (limited access) Shrinking wage bill hits tax revenue collections BusinessLive reports that revenue collections have fallen R23bn short of what was projected in the February budget, with R12.5bn of this shortfall coming from personal income tax and R8bn from VAT. The latest tax revenue forecast of R1.3-trillion for 2016-17 compared with the budget’s forecast of R1.32-trillion was due to "significant reductions in major tax bases including wages, household consumption and imports", the medium-term budget policy statement said. The economic contraction in the first quarter of 2016 had led to lower personal income tax receipts. "Growth in the wage bill, the tax base for personal income tax, has been revised down by more than one percentage point on average over the medium term," the statement added. Treasury expects some recovery in the second half of the year. Read this report by Linda Ensor in full at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Gauteng hosts rail safety summit just days after fatal Tembisa crash TMG Digital reports that the Gauteng government will hosting a two-day summit on Friday and Saturday aimed at “tackling topics that are sure to raise a nerve with the users of rail”. It comes at the end of a week that saw two Metrorail trains collide head-on near Tembisa‚ leaving one dead and 243 injured. After Tuesday’s crash‚ Metrorail Lillian Mofokeng insisted that rail was “still the safest mode of public transport” and said the preliminary cause of the crash was "human error". The Gauteng Provincial Legislature said its summit would give “train commuters an opportunity to air their views and suggestions with organised formations to process and account to”. Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Roads and Transport, Jacob Khawe, noted that the “rail system has been inundated with inefficiencies and delays that have a socio-impact on commuters”. Read this report in full at TimesLive Erratum: Tembisa train service fully restored following deadly crash In our report yesterday under the above heading, we stated that “A total of 177 of the 144 injured commuters were discharged by the various hospitals on Monday night, while 66 were still under observation on Tuesday…” The report should have read: “A total of 177 of the 243 injured commuters were discharged by the various hospitals on Monday night, while 66 were still under observation on Tuesday…” We apologise for the error. Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Contractor killed in accident at Harmony's Central Plant in Welkom Mining Weekly reports that a contractor was killed in a construction-related accident at Harmony Gold's Central Plant, in Welkom, on Wednesday. Construction work at the plant has been halted, pending the completion of a review of all construction risks. This short report is at Mining Weekly Unions consulting members on Amplats’ offer of 7% increase in basic pay Bloomberg reports that Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has offered to raise workers’ basic pay by 7% in a deal yet to be ratified by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu). This was said on Tuesday by another union involved, namely the United Association of SA (Uasa), which has put the offer to its own members. Apparently Amcu, which is the biggest union in the platinum sector, has agreed to the offer spanning 2016-18 and will need approval by its members. Last week, Amcu said it was close to finalising a new deal with the three largest producers, namely Amplats, Impala Platinum and Lonmin. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the second-largest labor group at Amplats, is also still consulting members on the deal. Read this report by Paul Burkhardt in full at Bloomberg Amplats and Implats wage offers contain ‘peace clauses’ Reuters reports that Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has reached a tentative wage increase deal, and the offers by both Amplats and Impala Platinum (Implats) oblige mineworkers to refrain from all industrial action. A draft agreement seen by Reuters on Thursday indicates that Amplats has tentatively agreed to wage increases of at least 7% over the next three years to avert a strike. The biggest union involved is the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu). The draft agreement contains a "peace obligation", which stipulates that no members of the unions "shall be entitled to embark upon any industrial action whatsoever". A source at Implats said it had offered a similar deal that also included a "peace clause". Amcu is the only union with which Implats is negotiating. Amcu was supposed to hold a press conference on Thursday to discuss the details of the agreements, but cancelled it abruptly on Wednesday "due to unforeseen matters". Read this report by Ed Stoddard in full at BusinessLive ‘Signs good’ for wage deal with Amcu, says Implats chairman BusinessLive reports that Impala Platinum (Implats) chairman Mandla Gantsho says signs wareere good that new two-year wage agreements would be signed soon with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu). He was speaking after the platinum producer’s annual general meeting. Talks with the union had been constructive and markedly different from those in 2013 that resulted in a five-month strike in 2014, he said. Gantsho went on to state: "We have an agreement in principle with Amcu’s negotiating team. They’ve gone to consult and will come back to us. Even if they have a mandate from their members, that has to be ratified at a mass meeting. But we think it’s a saleable proposal." Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa recently said he was confident of a deal being struck before the end of October. Extract from a wider report at BusinessLive (scroll down) Protesters torch bus used at De Beers Venetia mine in Musina BusinessLive reports that Limpopo police are investigating malicious damage to property after a bus owned by a company contracted to De Beers Venetia Mine in Musina was set ablaze. The company’s buses are used to transport mine workers living in the Musina and Blouberg areas. Colonel Ronnel Otto said police received information about an illegal strike at the mine and were investigating a case of damage to property. Company spokesman Innocent Mabusela said protesters have been stopping buses entering the mine and intimidating workers reporting for duty. The unlawful action relates to pay out of funds from the Equal Allocation Trust (EAT), an independent employee share scheme. Read this report by Kingdom Mabuza in full at BusinessLive. See too, Protesters torch De Beers minibus at Musina mine, at SABC News SA’s mining bosses defend multi-million rand pay cheques David McKay writes that an audience poll at the Joburg Indaba conference earlier this month found that 53.4% of the several hundred those who attended thought mining industry CEOs were overpaid. Gold Field CEO Nick Holland, who has frequently been criticised for high salary and bonus payouts, said criticism was inevitable, but wrong-headed. “You can never win this battle. All you can do is rationalise how it is done. But there will always be criticism”. He believes dollar denominated peer group benchmarking and independent surveys are the correct way to go. Chris Griffith, CEO of Anglo American Platinum, believes the key issue is about being transparent in how executive pay is measured rather than focusing on the absolute amount. Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye Gold, commented: “If we think that by reducing CEO incentives or remuneration that will change something then we are making a mistake. We have to get the levels at the bottom raised up.” Read this report in full at Miningmx Other labour posting(s) in this news category
Gideon du Plessis tells employers to seize opportunity to stabilise labour relations Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of trade union Solidarity, writes that, as is the case with #FeesMustFall, labour relations are complicated and are characterised by hidden agendas. So, if employers want to restore the balance of power and labour peace at shop floor level, they will have to negotiate smarter, but will also have to understand the deep-seated dynamics behind labour relations. He says that with the general trade union environment, Cosatu, and the ruling party all being in disarray, employers should seize the opportunity to stabilise labour relations at workplace level without fear of high level interference. Also worth noting is that when it comes to labour disputes the local structures of certain populist trade unions nowadays want to act more independently and without interference from their headquarters. Du Plessis goes on to make practical observations relating to wage negotiation processes. Read Du Plessis’ article in full at BizNews. Read this article in Afrikaans at Netwerk24 (limited access) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Tshwane bus drivers on strike on Thursday EWN reports that the City of Tshwane says about 70% of its buses are not operational on Thursday, due to a strike by workers affiliated to the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu). The city says it's currently unclear why workers did not reported for duty this morning. MMC for roads and transport in Tshwane, Sheila Lynn Senkubuge, said: “We’re very surprised that they did not come to work today, because just yesterday we had a meeting, where we spoke to them in the presence of their representatives and they said they have no grievances.” A short report by Thando Kubheka is at EWN
Samwu marches for decent work in Pretoria on Thursday Pretoria East Rekord reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) will be marching to the Pretoria CBD on Thursday. Union regional secretary, Mpho Tladinyane, said the march was the continuation of labour federation Cosatu‘s programme for decent work and would encompass a variety of issues, from racism to decent wages. The march is expected to start in Marabastad at 10:00 and proceed to the mayor’s office, where the union will submit its memorandum of demands. “About 2,000 participants are expected and traffic is likely to be disrupted. Read this report in full at Pretoria East Rekord. See too, Samwu betoog Donderdag in Pretoria se middestad, at Netwerk24 (limited access) Disgruntled Apla vets storm Durban exco meeting demanding employment The Mercury reports that disgruntled former military combatants of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Apla) stormed an executive committee meeting at the Durban City Hall on Tuesday demanding employment from the city. Apla is aligned to the PAC. The ex-combatants were forcefully removed before they could address the exco. Mayor Zandile Gumede was left fuming, demanding to know how the men had managed to breach the city’s supposedly stringent security. Apla eThekwini secretary Bongani Nxumalo said the group had resorted to the drastic measure after their calls for employment, “through proper channels”, had fallen on deaf ears. He said their members were being ignored in the employment of military veterans. Instead, members of the ANC-aligned Umkhonto we Sizwe were getting “preferential treatment”. City manager S’bu Sithole said the Apla concerns would be addressed in the city’s military veterans policy. Read this report by Sihle Manda in full at The Mercury No let up with Nehawu’s campaign to oust Northern Cape’s health head Netwerk24 reports that the National Education Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) has again demanded that Elizabeth Botes, head of the Northern Cape department of health, resign and her corruption task team be disbanded. The union will be staging protest marches in Kakamas and De Aar on Friday and on next Wednesday in the Frances Baard municipal district, under which Kimberley falls. This follows month-long protests by the union during which hospital and clinic services have been disrupted. The health department has obtained a court interdict against the union to prevent further disruptions. Sabata Jonas, Nehawu’s provincial chairperson, said their campaign was in the interests of better health services and working conditions, as well as justice. He added: “We want to root out nepotism, corruption and wastage of funds.” (Loosely translated from Afrikaans) Read this report by Charné Kemp in full in Afrikaans at Netwerk24
Dlamini hits back at Ramaphosa’s claim about good progress with minimum wage The New Age reports that Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini is at odds with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s claims of steady progress being made at Nedlac on the national minimum wage (NMW). With reference to the 18-month haggling between the government, business, labour and the community constituencies in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) discussions, Dlamini claimed the government could have done more to expedite the NMW. “The slow progress started in 2014 and it is 2016. It is clear that it won’t be implemented by the end of the year – we can’t call it good progress.” He believes the government entered the discussions with a half-measured approach. “The government has placed the level (of the wage) so low, even worse than business at times. It’s a problem.” Dlamini also said high and excessive executive pay was the elephant in the room during the Nedlac discussions. Read this report by Bonolo Selebano in full at The New Age
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Wednesday, 26 October 2016 at SA Labour News
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